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Running battle

The Dolphins again say they'll emphasize the run. And again it appears as if it will be difficult for them to do it.

By BRUCE LOWITT

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

Remember how Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson would promise in training camp that this was the season Miami was absolutely, positively, honest, no kidding, going to run the football?

Remember what happened? Before September was out, it was the Dan Marino air show, with the ground game along for the ride.

Johnson is gone. Dave Wannstedt, his hand-picked successor, is on the hot seat.

He says he wants to run the ball. This time, it just may happen.

For openers, Chan Gailey, former Dallas head coach, is his offensive coordinator. His offenses had strong running attacks.

Mike Shula is his quarterbacks coach, reunited with Wannstedt from when both were in Chicago. Wannstedt was head coach with Shula his tight ends coach.

Shula was unceremoniously dumped as the Bucs offensive coordinator -- when he was at the Pro Bowl, no less -- and landed on his feet two days later in Miami, where his father became a legend.

Now Shula has the daunting task of trying to find a quarterback to replace a legend.

Marino is gone. So is his on-field leadership.

"A lot of people are fired up about this season," quarterback Damon Huard said before training camp opened. "It will be tough without Dan here. He's one of the greatest to play the game."

Huard is his successor. Or maybe it's Jay Fiedler. Huard seemed to have the inside track to the starting job, first because he was 5-1 as Marino's replacement last season, second because Fiedler was out with minor hip surgery.

But Huard is prone to mental mistakes, overthrown passes and so on. It may be October before it is certain who locks up the starting job.

Whoever it is, he's not going to carry the Dolphins on his arm.

That wouldn't be so bad if Wannstedt had a carry-us-on-your-back runner. He doesn't. He may end up rotating running backs.

With Karim Abdul Al-Jabbar, Bernie Parmalee, Cecil Collins and John Avery gone, J. J. Johnson was supposed to be the featured back. But Lamar Smith, a free agent from New Orleans, was more impressive (mainly better moves) in the preseason. Smith, though, has a history of showing flashes of brilliance but not sustaining that level.

Autry Denson, a Bucs 1999 seventh-round draft choice who didn't make the team and signed as a free agent with the Dolphins, will be in the mix. In third-down situations, look for 34-year-old ex-Buffalo Bill Thurman Thomas, and fullback Rob Konrad in one running back and jumbo-backfield formations.

O. J. McDuffie would be Huard's (or Fiedler's) No. 1 receiver if he was not out indefinitely with a toe injury. It slowed him last season, and he had post-season surgery. So the role is open. Tony Martin, Oronde Gadsden and ex-Buc Bert Emanuel are likely to be used extensively when Gailey goes to multiple sets.

Left tackle Richmond Webb anchors an offensive line that will have to develop some cohesion after a training camp of rotating injuries.

The defensive tackle spots are set with Tim Bowens and Daryl Gardener, but the backup fight is down to Jermaine Haley, Earnest Grant and Damian Gregory. Haley and Gregory have the inside track, but Grant, a sixth-round pick, has the most upside because of his size.

This is defensive end Jason Taylor's show-me-what-you've-got year, with free agency at the end of the season. He had 14 sacks in his first two seasons, just two last year. Richie Owens rebounded from a 1998 season lost to a torn anterior cruciate ligament to lead the Dolphins in sacks with 81/2 and has shown he can handle inside blockers.

Zack Thomas is one of the NFL's premier middle linebackers, flanked by Robert Jones and Derrick Rodgers, neither of whom recorded a sack last season. In the secondary, Sam Madison has established himself as an excellent cornerback, which means offenses are likely to stay away from him -- which in turn means it's going to be a very busy season for the other corner, Patrick Surtain.

Olindo Mare is one of the strongest, most accurate field-goal kickers. With an offense that has yet to find an identity, Mare may keep busy salvaging stalled drives.

This is the Dolphins' first Marino-less season since 1983. It's likely he has taken high expectations with him. It may take a while before the Dolphins can renew them.

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